ANGELS AND MONSTERS 259
and dreams, almost as if they were
listening to snatches from different
radio stations while turning the
dial—parents worried about their
son, the memories of a Holocaust
victim. The angels may sometimes
be sensed, but only children can
actually see them.What else to watch: La Belle et la Bête (1946, pp.84–85) ■ It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, pp.88–93) ■ Andrei Rublev (1966) ■
Alice in the Cities (1974) ■ The American Friend (1977) ■ The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Why am I here?
At the start of the movie is a
poem, written by Handke, which
explains why. “When the child
was a child, it didn’t know it was
a child. Everything was full of life,
and all life was one.” Later in the
movie, the poem continues, “When
the child was a child, it was the
time of the following questions:
Why am I me and why not you?
Why am I here and why not there?”
The angels, who know the
answers to these questions, are
somehow bereft. They might know
and see everything as they gaze ❯❯Watching from on high
At the beginning of the movie two
angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and
Cassiel (Otto Sander), gaze down
at the city of Berlin from on high,
gliding through the air or poised
atop the city’s great monuments.
They are there to listen and
observe, as they have done since
long before the city was built.
Their role is to give people hope,
or the intuition that they are not
alone. However, they are unable
to intervene directly—and they
are unable to experience anything
physically themselves.
The movie unfolds at a
measured pace. It is patient, like
the angels themselves as they
listen in on human thoughts, fears,
The movie
poster shows
the angel Damiel
perched high above
Berlin at the top of
the Victory Statue.
The movie’s
sweeping shots
give an angel’s-eye
view of the city.To draw all the demons of the earth
from passers-by and to chase them out
into the world. To be a savage.
Marion / Wings of Desire
Film is a very, very
powerful medium. It can
either confirm the idea that
things are wonderful the way
they are, or it can reinforce
the conception that things
can be changed.
Wim Wenders